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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tear — from crying
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. tear — from crying
  13. prune — to trim
  14. kid — child
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. kid — to tease
  20. land — a country
  21. land — ground
  22. land — to come down
  23. bulb — for light
  24. tear — to rip

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com